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Nothing
Nothing, was around before the three who could not be named, and before Onnotangu and Amaterasu. This Nothing was Everything for in that time there was nothing else but Nothing. It would later become the Lying Darkness and seek to destroy the world it had made. The Three Sins The Nothing was existential void that pre-dated the existence of the world. The world was born from Nothing in three stages. One-third of the world was created out of its fear of loneliness, another third out of its desire for companionship, and the last third came from its remorse for accidentally creating the world and therefore ruining the perfect, empty void. Roleplaying in the Emerald Empire, p. 17 These three sins, Fear, Desire and Regret - poisoned the mind and keep it from acting with certainty. Player's Guide: 2nd Ed, p. 25 A Naga Tale about the Nothing Once, the People stood beneath the Bright Eye's radiant gaze, and felt her warmth alone. She was our lover, a mother to the creatures of the world and the beloved lady of the People. Her eye was that of kindness. Her mate, the Pale Eye, was jealous of the things of the world, and he caused her to weep because his hatred of her beloved people. The Pale Eye, cold from anger and envy, watched as the People sang praises to the Bright, and so he hid his face in the Shadow. He gave no warmth to the People, no friendship or hope, and to his mate the Bright Eye, he gave pain. As they walked across the land, prepared to give names to all, the Pale Eye lagged jealously behind. Alone, his eye was caught by a small slip of Shadow which hid beneath a rock and did not want a name. "Let us make a deal," the Pale Eye said to the Bright. "I will provide the names, and you will choose which creature to give them to." The Bright agreed and it seemed a fair agreement, and so they spread the Names among the world. Jealous of the love that the People had for the Bright Eye, the Pale chose not to show the hiding Shadow to his mate, to let it stay as it wished and be free. And when the Bright had used all the names he had given her, the Pale did not offer more and the thing within the Shadow remained as it was, unnamed and unmade. After the Bright and the Pale stepped again into the Sky, the Shadow greedily used its power to feed upon the People. Pleased to avenge its father, the Pale Eye, it devoured the bodies of the People, twisted them beyond bone and scale. Yet among the people rose a hero. His name, at the time was Qatol. He was a warrior, a dread-mind-hunter, bringer of food. The Qatol fought the darkness with weapons of steel and jade, but nothing drove it away. More died. More vanished into the Shadow, never to be seen again, their souls lost forever. The Bright Eye, weeping as her People died, could do nothing. She could not break the bargain with the Pale, and she had no other names to give. Angered, she sent her youngest son to steal a name from the Pale, but he fell to the earth with his brothers and sisters, defeated. No name was ever given, and the Darkness that Walks remained free. The Storming of Morikage Castle, Part 3, by Ree Soesbee Deceiver When Onnotangu and Amaterasu created the world and named everything in it Nothing fled, hiding in Onnotangu's shadow. Nothing did not want a name, and the creation of the world had diminished it, and its power. Concealed, it planned its revenge. From there it whispered doubts in Onnotangu's ears, causing the god to attempt to kill his own children and the subsequent Fall of the Kami. Dawn of the Empire, by Rich Wulf Creation of the World Amaterasu and Onnotangu walked the Celestial Heavens, at peace with their realms. They loved, and they laughed, and all was well with Onnotangu and his bride, Amaterasu. They spoke of immortality, and of creation, and Onnotangu built a wonderland for his bridal bower, filled with trees and plants, and all the beautiful things of the world. The Lady Sun, enchanted with his gift, begged him to let her populate it with children, but Onnotangu was jealous of his bride's love, and would not hear of such a thing. Yet, as he loved her, they created the animals, and the beasts of the sea, and spread them across the world. But still the Sun was not satisfied. They created man, and still, she wanted more. At last, Onnotangu's love for her broke through his fear, and they created the Children, the sons and daughters of the Heavens: the immortal Kami. The babies became the light of Amaterasu's world, and she adored them. So much, that she forgot her love for Onnotangu, and turned her face from him. As the Moon and the Sun gave names to the world, she forgot to hide her love for the children, and she spoke of each thing as another gift for her children. She no longer needed the Moon. Onnotangu grew bitter. He began to hate his wife, their children, and the world they had made,seeing each as a reflection of the Sun's false love. So, as he gave Amaterasu the names for each beast and tree, he held one name for himself, and did not tell it to her. He kept that one name, the last of all names. War in the Heavens, by Ree Soesbee First Encounter with Another Race The Nothing explored Ningen-do, and encountered the Naga race. It cried a single tear and let it fall into physical being, a tear of pure black stone, perfectly shaped, which fell near a Naga city, in the place which would be known as the Eternal Danger Islands. When the Nothing's tear encountered the Akasha, the communal Naga soul, it was both terrified and fascinated. The Nothing eventually consumed the soul and identity of the elder Naga Vedic who spoke with it most often, the first time the Nothing consumed the name and identity of another. A group of Naga Jakla who used their Pearl Magic to perform a powerful ritual, destroying the foundations of the islands, which was claimed by the sea. The island was remade into a archipelago, and the Foul was swept away. Book of Water, pp. 142-143 Revealing to Fu Leng Nothing hid within the shadow, looking for a way to destroy this world it had accidentally made. It saw potential in the youngest of Lord Moon's children, the one named Fu Leng, a wise but also very arrogant child with a rage deep inside him. Nothing revealed itself to Fu Leng, told him the true origins of the universe, and taught him the ways of magic. It offered to grant him true power if it would help him unmake all of existence. When Nothing finished teaching him, the young Kami smirked and refused to ally with it. Nothing became enraged and attacked Fu Leng, but the Kami defended himself with a crystal sword, cutting off a piece of Nothing and wounding it terribly. It fled back into the shadows. Hidden Emperor, p. 5 Turning Upon Onnotangu Nothing turned instead to Lord Moon without revealing itself. It whispered in Lord Moon's ear, driving him to madness, turning his suspicions against Fu Leng. As Lord Moon hunted his children, Nothing offered Fu Leng a place to hide in the shadow. Before Fu Leng could reply, Togashi drew his brother from the shadows and both were devoured by Lord Moon. Nothing considered this an acceptable conclusion until Hantei arrived and rescued his siblings. Hidden Emperor, pp. 5-6 Fall of the Kami When the Children of the Sun fell from the sky, screaming their mother's name, Onnotangu cursed them all. He watched the Sun weep as her children were cast down, and he cried, "My wife has betrayed me, and for her crime, I will chase her through the heavens. She will have no rest, no peace, and she will forever be alone, apart from her children. As she took her love from me, so will she be forever without love." "My children, too, deserve no mercy. One by one, I shall hunt them and their people, until the world is as red as blood, and as black as night. I shall destroy them, for daring to steal what is my own." "But I shall have one child," said Onnotangu, gnashing his teeth with fury, "a son of my own choosing, who has never betrayed me. A child who has never known the Sun." And he went to the last of the world's creatures, the unnamed Shadow. The Moon spoke to it as a father, and he lifted it up from that place, and carried it to become the blackness between the stars. When the Kami fell to earth to escape their father, the Nothing attempted to turn the realm of Jigoku against them, warning that Fu Leng especially must be destroyed. But this inspired more curiosity than fear within Jigoku, which seized Fu Leng as he descended. Fu Leng was now a powerful rival, who knew its weaknesses. Having failed once again, the Nothing again retreated to the shadows in fear, hoping that Fu Leng forgot about it. Hidden Emperor, p. 6 Shosuro Shosuro was created by the kenku Mukashi and his brother Takashi using the small piece of Nothing cut off by Fu Leng The Daughter, by Seth Mason When the Seven Thunders defeated Fu Leng, Nothing rejoiced. It knew, however, that Fu Leng was not truly dead, so it hurried to his ruined keep to find a weapon that might be used against the Dark Kami when he returned, the severed obsidian hand of Onnotangu. Following the Day of Thunder, Nothing watched as Shosuro and Shinsei fled. They were being pursued by many demons, including the First Oni itself. Nothing whispered to Shosuro, offering to aid them if she would be its ally. Shosuro doubted its intentions, but with the arrival of the horde following them she accepted. Nothing drew the attention of Shiba, who had been scouring the Shadowlands for days. Shiba arrived just in time to defeat the First Oni and allow Shosuro and Shinsei to escape, but at the cost of the Kami's life. Day of Thunder, by Rich Wulf Through Shosuro, it was able to corrupt the Scorpion Clan, using them as its eyes and ears. Growing in size The Darknes was a small and tiny being when it was created, and it sought the way to grow. Way of Shadow, p. 146 For centuries it waited, plotted, and planned for a chance to unmake the world again. It stayed close to Onnotangu, whispering in Lord Moon's ear, driving him ever deeper into madness. Though Onnotangu believed the little shadow was his willing servant, in truth he had become its unthinking slave. Lust for Undone Creation of the Lying Darkness Because of its undefined nature, Nothing was bound to no single form, though it also had no identity of its own. In a fit of loneliness, it touched the mind of another being that shared its pain of isolation, Goju, a ninja driven from the Scorpion Clan to show the Emperor the loyalty of the clan. Infected by Goju's madness, the Nothing was twisted into the Lying Darkness that eventually would try to claim and unmake all of existence. Secrets of the Shadowlands, p. 54 Nothing was the beginning, and its followers worked to change the world as it was during the beginning, when Nothing was Everything. So to undone the world as it was know, was the main goal for the nothing aligned entities. If they would succeed, only Nothing would remain. Other names This Nothing was called the Khayel, or the Sayel in the Burning Sands Slaves of Mortals, Part II, by Patrick Kapera and the Foul by the Naga. Hidden Emperor, p. 13 Freed of the Need to Devour Creation After Hitomi named the Lying Darkness in 1133 during the Battle of Oblivion's Gate, the Nothing became separated from the madness of Goju. The formless entity was once again Nothing, neither good nor evil. A sliver of Nothing existed to this day, unknown by nearly all of the mortal world and freed of the need to devour creation. Shadow Dragon Goju still commanded a scrap of the Lying Darkness' power and shared it with the Shadow Dragon. Though the Shadow Dragon drew its influence by corrupting the primal Nothing, it was not powerful enough to completely devour the Nothing as Goju had done before. The Shadow Dragon ate away at the natural formlessness a little at a time. The Shadow Dragon remained first and foremost an avatar of the Nothing and every action it took was slanted, directly or indirectly, toward the eventual destruction of creation. Great Clans, p. 278 Category:Nothing Personalities Category:Magic and Religion